the debut of the idol's newest judges, steven tyler and jennifer lopez. more than 100 contestants made the cut from the thousands who originally tried out there. two from our area. sherri ly was in jersey city with more on. that. >> reporter: i'm courtney, 19 years old and i will be singing vivala vida by coldplay. >> reporter: she hopes this "american idol" audition will be different. she tried out twice before. >> the second time i forgot the words. >> reporter: she's never made it this far and going before the idol judges in jersey city and trying to get to hollywood. >> reporter: i know i just need a couple of minutes. >> reporter: her knees shook anxiously waiting for her turn to perform. a family friend is nervous for her, too. >> music is her life. we're excited about this opportunity. this is going to change her whole world. >> reporter: courtney has more than 20,000 followers on her youtube chapel. "american idol" has 20 million. >> and the contestants said they grew up watching the show. >> reporter: with steven tyler and jennifer lopez added to